Rob Williams (Marvel Comics)

Rob Williams is fast becoming one of the most prolific writers on the books at Marvel Comics. The acclaimed scribe signed an exclusivity agreement with the publisher in April, and has since found himself working on some of its biggest titles. We caught up with Williams to discuss his plans for Ghost Rider, X-Force and more.

So, you signed an exclusivity agreement with Marvel a few months back. How is that working out for you?
"It's been great. For one, I'm a lifelong Marvel fan, so to be invited to be one of their writers and to know I'll be able to play with their cast of characters for the next couple of years is a huge thrill. From a career standpoint it raises my profile in the industry and from a purely financial view, it means I don't have to worry about where work's coming from for the next couple of years. There really weren't any negatives to the offer for me. I'd started a couple of other projects with different publishers prior to the offer and didn't want to leave those people in the lurch, but Marvel were very cool with me finishing existing commitments. Once that was clarified I was delighted to sign."

Your run on Daken: Dark Wolverine commenced last month. Where are you hoping to the character during your tenure on the title?
"The initial thing I wanted to do was take him away from Wolverine for a while. Daken hates his father but was permanently entwined with Wolverine. So I thought, let's have him grow up and define himself as an individual, make a definite shift in purpose. Daken wants to be the next big Kingpin of Crime for the Marvel Universe and we'll be detailing his journey. He's not an anti-hero, he's a villain, and this is his story. I pitched it as a Kingpin: Year One book. It's crime fiction within the Marvel Universe, and Daken's first target is the city of Los Angeles, where he figures there'll be less heroes and a vacant throne. But it's not going to be as simple as that. Turns out Daken's not the only one looking to take over the Hollywood Hills."

You seem to have a penchant for titles featuring dark anti-heroes. What is it that attracts you to this type of character?
"It's the jobs I get offered! I'm just as happy writing Spider-Man, trust me. But I guess my style of storytelling suits these moral grey area characters. Certainly, with Daken, he's a very nasty piece of work. An extremely complex character. There's all sorts of narrative opportunities that come from a character like that."

You're also launching a new Ghost Rider series for Marvel with a female Spirit of Vengeance. What can you tell us about the new protagonist?
"Not too much at this stage. But I will say that this new Ghost Rider was raised and trained purely for this role. She's a great warrior, trained in all sorts of martial arts, whereas Johnny Blaze was 'just' a motorcycle stuntman when he became the Ghost Rider. Our new Ghost Rider is a far more terrifying prospect. And she's able to use the powers of the Ghost Rider in ways that Johnny Blaze never was, which is bad news for everyone on planet Earth. She's a weapon of supernatural mass destruction."

What kind of role will former Ghost Rider Johnny Blaze play in the story?
"Johnny's a major part of our story, still. He's, at the very least, a co-protagonist. He's got a great sardonic voice to write, has Johnny. He finally manages to lose his 'curse' and thinks he's free but, of course, he can't allow himself to just walk away. He's just unleashed a great destructive weapon on the world and he sees it as his responsibility to mentor her and stop her raising armageddon."

What can you tell us about your upcoming Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force miniseries?
"It's a big action movie with major set-pieces and some serious moral questions attached. With the larger events of Fear Itself taking place people think the end of the world has come, and a splinter faction of the extreme religious group The Purifiers, who have always believed mutants are the children of the devil, believe that the superheroes have brought this on mankind. They think this is the end of days, that morals have collapsed in society, and when you look at a team such as X-Force, a mutant kill-crew, and it's easy to see where they're coming from. The Purifiers want to kill as many people as possible so their souls can go to heaven before the devil comes for everyone on Earth. People go crazy when they're faced with the end of the world! It's up to X-Force to stop them, but the question's hanging there throughout: 'these guys may be crazy but, do they have a point?' Albeit a very screwed-up point."

Are there any Marvel characters you are eager to write but have not yet had the opportunity?
"I've written an awful lot of Marvel characters in the last year or so, and it's been a blast. As I say, I'm a fan of these characters. I'd like to write more Spider-Man given the opportunity. I've written Spidey a few times now and it's always a huge amount of fun. But someone I've not tackled yet? Daredevil, maybe? Some of my favourite comics of all time were Daredevil comics and I've not written Matt Murdock yet. So I guess that's an itch to scratch at some stage, hopefully."

Ghost Rider and Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force will debut next month.